Jerry Reinsdorf on Mark Buehrle: “He just didn’t fit into our plans.”

“He gave us a chance to keep him and I’m sure he would’ve taken less money to come back,” Reinsdorf said of Buehrle. “He just didn’t fit into our plans. That’s the thing. You can’t let personal feelings for players stand in the way of letting the general manager do what he feels is right for the team.”

… “Mark was a 38th-round draft choice,” Reinsdorf said. “We didn’t expect very much from him or he wouldn’t have gone that low, and when he finally made the big-league club, we looked at him as a reliever. I remember we were looking around for starters and someone said, ‘Why don’t we give Buehrle a shot?’ Most people in the room [were skeptical] but the rest was history.

“He was able to locate his pitches, particularly his cutter. He wasn’t a strikeout pitcher but his strikeouts weren’t that bad. He’s not a Hall of Fame pitcher by any means, but he’s a real pro. He took the ball every single time and battled, was great in the clubhouse, caught first pitches, made appearances, was a great guy. He was perfect for our team.”

… “At this stage of his career to get $58 million for four more years, it’s a fabulous thing for him,” Reinsdorf said. “It just didn’t make any sense for us.”

Reinsdorf said it was not his place to judge whether the Marlins overpaid or not for Buehrle, but that the Sox were thinking more in the range of three years, $30 million.